Bengaluru IVF facility ordered to refund Rs 4.8 lakhs to Mysuru man
An In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) facility in Bengaluru’s Indiranagar has reportedly been ordered by a city consumer court to refund 4.8 lakhs to a man who had paid the amount in order to have a child through surrogacy.
The 40-year-old Mysuru native is a divorcee who had seen an ad in a paper in 2016 by Dr Rama’s Fertility IVF Centre stating that it offered surrogacy services for those looking to have a child through the same. Reportedly, the man contacted the centre and was told that for a total of Rs 7 lakh, they would be able to help him and for an additional Rs 1.5 lakh he’d be able to have twins. On the first visit, he was to pay the initial fees of Rs 2.25 lakh. Subsequently, he ended up paying a total of Rs 4.8 lakh as advised, only to be told later by doctors that single men were not eligible to have a child through this method.
The man stated that it took the hospital nearly eight months to introduce a surrogate mother to him. He was coerced into paying Rs 2.5 lakh more. When he was to meet the surrogate mother, he was told that she had met with an accident on the way to the hospital, and had taken half of the money and absconded.
When the man and his family confronted the IVF centre, they said that single men were not eligible to have children through surrogacy and refused to give him his refund. However, when he insisted on a full refund, the doctors told him that they had found him another surrogate.
The victim then approached a consumer court in Shantinagar with his complaint. After a while, the court ordered the doctors to pay the man Rs 3 lakh as compensation as well as refund him his Rs 4.8 lakh.
The 40-year-old Mysuru native is a divorcee who had seen an ad in a paper in 2016 by Dr Rama’s Fertility IVF Centre stating that it offered surrogacy services for those looking to have a child through the same. Reportedly, the man contacted the centre and was told that for a total of Rs 7 lakh, they would be able to help him and for an additional Rs 1.5 lakh he’d be able to have twins. On the first visit, he was to pay the initial fees of Rs 2.25 lakh. Subsequently, he ended up paying a total of Rs 4.8 lakh as advised, only to be told later by doctors that single men were not eligible to have a child through this method.
The man stated that it took the hospital nearly eight months to introduce a surrogate mother to him. He was coerced into paying Rs 2.5 lakh more. When he was to meet the surrogate mother, he was told that she had met with an accident on the way to the hospital, and had taken half of the money and absconded.
When the man and his family confronted the IVF centre, they said that single men were not eligible to have children through surrogacy and refused to give him his refund. However, when he insisted on a full refund, the doctors told him that they had found him another surrogate.
The victim then approached a consumer court in Shantinagar with his complaint. After a while, the court ordered the doctors to pay the man Rs 3 lakh as compensation as well as refund him his Rs 4.8 lakh.
